@EWUAthletics Unveils The Eagle Athletic Fund

Cheney, Wash.
– The Eastern Washington University Department of Athletics
announces the rebranding of its annual fund to the Eagle Athletic
Fund effective today, Aug. 22.

Formerly known as the Eagle
Athletic Association, the EAF is the fundraising arm of Eastern
Athletics. One of the main functions of the EAF is to offset the
nearly $3 million annual cost of student-athlete grant-in-aid
expenses.

The name change is the first step
in a plan set in motion by Ken
Halpin, Associate Athletic Director of External
Affairs, to grow the EAF and establish an annual fund
that provides priority to members for a multitude of benefits.

“Today is an important
step in the growth of Eastern Athletics,” Halpin said.
“Our next step will be a complete overhaul of the operations
of the EAF to create a stronger sense of membership and elevate the
philanthropic engagement of our incredible fan
base.”

This past July, Laurel
Hosmer was named the Director of Development and External
Revenue. In this role, she will focus on developing and stewarding
the EAF as well as oversee all of the relational aspects of
football tailgating, an area that has exploded in recent years.

“A lot of time and effort
went into the decision to change the EAA to the EAF,” Hosmer
said. “The unanimous vote during a meeting of the general
membership on November 23, 2013 illustrates the importance of this
move and their commitment to the growth of EWU Athletics. This is
an exciting time to be an Eagle, and my focus will be to implement
policies and procedures through the EAF that illustrate the
importance of the philanthropic support of our student-athletes and
reward those that commit to our mission.”

Bill
Chaves, Director of Athletics, added, “This iteration of
annual fundraising takes into account all best practices nationally
as well as building on all of the great work by everyone that has
contributed since 1983.”

Eastern Athletics expects the
transformation of the EAF to be complete by early December in
conjunction with membership renewals for the 2015 year.